Morgan Ledbetter, Erin Smith Sweep Weekly SLIAC Softball Honors

EUREKA –  For the first time this season, Eureka College softball has claimed both of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference weekly honors.

Junior Morgan Ledbetter (Hanna City, Ill./Elmwood/Culver Stockton) is the SLIAC Hitter of the Week and junior Erin Smith (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap) is the SLIAC Pitcher of the Week. Both are first-time honorees.

Over the course of six games, Ledbetter batted .500, collecting 11 hits in 22 at-bats while recording a .542 on-base percentage and slugging 1.091. She homered four times, including twice in a dramatic conference comeback win over Greenville on Saturday, racked up 12 RBIs, had one double, one walk and only struck out once.

With six home runs on the season, the Red Devils' first baseman not only leads the SLIAC, but she's on pace to surpass EC assistant coach Kelli Dunne's single-season program record of 10. She also leads the league with a .568 batting average.

Smith, meanwhile, pitched three complete games and collected two wins this week, including one in a conference victory over Greenville on Saturday. She struck out 13, only walked two and recorded a 3.65 ERA in 23 innings.

With a win over Rose-Hulman on Sunday, Smith improved to 6-2 on the season and lowered her season ERA to 2.40. She's now third in the SLIAC in wins, only trailing Iowa Wesleyan's Morgan Christner (nine) and Spalding's Olivia Carter (eight).

This is the first time EC has swept the weekly SLIAC softball honors since shortstop Kerrigan Dura and right-hander Kali George did it on April 2, 2018.